


Quantum Dilemma

by DivineWriting



Series: A New Perspective [4]
Category: Danny Phantom, The X-Files
Genre: Folklore, Legends, References to Aztec Religion & Lore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 12:21:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18828595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivineWriting/pseuds/DivineWriting
Summary: Mulder and Scully are sent to Amity Park to investigate the murders of two young teens. All the evidence suggests the association of these murders with paranormal phenomena. Mulder and Scully discover that their new lead is a teenage entity with supernatural abilities. A ghost boy named Danny Phantom.





	1. SAM

**Author's Note:**

> Samantha Manson and Dana Scully describe first-person perspectives of the event with each alternating scene.

“Have you done Mr. Lancer’s summer reading assignments yet?” Tucker asked me as we walked together to Danny’s place. 

“Yes, some of them were pretty good actually! I was definitely a fan of the Great Gatsby!” I insisted, “I’m assuming you’re asking me to borrow my books so you can cram the day before school starts?” 

“I knew I could count on you!” Tucker smiled, swarming me with a satisfied hug, “but don’t judge, I’m sure Danny will do the same thing.” 

“You’re wrong about that, Tucker. He’s actually almost done with all of it.” 

“How would you know? Did you see it lying open on his desk while ya’ll were doing the dirty?” 

“Tucker, please don’t EVER say that phrase again!” I scolded as my cheeks immediately felt warm. 

“Alright, while ya’ll were fucking. Is that any better?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, “No!” I clamored, quickly changing my mind. “We’re not fucking!” 

“I know that’s a straight up lie because Danny raved about it to me the night it happened,” Tucker chimed, revealing a mischievous smirk.

“What?!” I nearly shouted, stirring the birds from the scraps near us, “wait… what did he say?” 

“That he faked an orgasm to get it over with.”

“That is a fucking lie, trust me that shit was real!” I argued as I saw a grin dance across Tucker’s face. Great, I gave him exactly what he wanted. 

“Chill, Sam,” he said calmly, irritating the shit out of me. I don’t think Tucker realized how actually scared as fuck I was to be so intimate and vulnerable with Danny. It hurt like Hell to think Danny was completely turned off by me, even if it was part of Tucker’s short lived quip. 

“He said it was the best moment of his life. Better than winning Doomed II, and that’s saying something,” Tucker assured me when he noticed the pain in my eyes.

I couldn’t help but blush once again, and despite how much I wanted to punch Tucker in the face for fucking with me, I also wanted to hug him with happiness. It’s an understatement to say I was relieved knowing Danny actually enjoyed being with me that way. 

As if Tucker could read my mind, he asked me to explain what exactly Danny and I were. Did Danny want to continue being with me in that way? What if he just enjoyed it because he’s a teenage boy who lost his virginity to a decent looking girl? I mean, getting to cum without using your own hand for once would probably be the best night of any 17-year-old boy’s life. 

It’s been a kind of blurred line ever since it happened a few nights ago. We hadn’t seen one another since, but only because I refused to visit him until he finished his reading assignments. Which is why Tucker and I were headed over to his place now. 

“I really… I.. I don’t really know,” I stuttered, attempting to fulfill Tucker’s curiosity, “we never really made anything official.” 

“There’s no shame in that. I mean Jazz and I are unofficially dating, she just doesn’t know it yet,” Tucker smiled confidently. 

“Dating as in she had one dream about you and now you think she’ll soon be Jazz Foley?” I joked, tussling his hat. 

“No! I’ll have you know we got to second base the other night.”

“Wait… you…”

“Yep,” he interrupted, “Not just a cheek kiss, but full-on make-out.” 

“You obviously don’t know much about ‘baseball’,” I giggled, but he seemed pretty proud of himself. And he should be, just because Danny and I hit a homerun before him doesn’t mean he lost the game. 

“I’m glad, Tucker. I’m sure Jazz appreciates you spending time with her without trying to constantly grope her. I’m sure that’s how it was with every guy she’s tried to hang out with alone in the past. Especially, cough cough, Dash.” 

“Honestly I’m fine with just talking. She is like crazy smart. Plus she is a lot wittier than we give her credit for. You should hear her talk shit about, cough cough, Dash!” Tucker grinned, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. I would love to hear that roast fest.

“But I have to admit, sometimes it takes a lot of self discipline in our cuddle seshes. I mean, her body is like crazy nice and her ass is so fine!” 

And of course, with perfect timing, Danny stepped out of his house right as Tucker mentioned that. Danny paused for a moment and rolled his eyes, “I’d rather not be included in this conversation if it’s about what I think it’s about…”

“Sam was just raving about how good you were in bed!” Tucker poked.

“Tucker!!!” Danny and I scolded simultaneously. An awkward moment of silence passed before Danny looked at me with a pair of hopeful, puppy dog eyes, “wait, really?” 

I smiled and blushed shyly, too embarrassed to reply. Danny understood my nonverbal response and mirrored my reddening cheeks. 

“So you made sure to bring the thermos right?” I asked, shaking off my flustered condition. 

Danny held it up, instigating our hunt.


	2. SCULLY

“What is it?” 

“Not what, who.” 

“Who is it? And how is this possible?”

“I’m not sure, but we’re going to find out,” Mulder assured me as we scrolled through the case file on Mulder’s desktop computer. We were both in Mulder’s basement office, gazing at the computer screen as Mulder’s “I Want to Believe” poster hung illustriously in the background.

“We’ve seen a couple of these symptoms before. Phasing through walls? My first thoughts go to that one guy we had a case on who could literally, well… walk through walls,” I insisted, tapping my finger on my chin as my brain searched for logic. 

“Yeah, I remember that. And the whole being invisible thing, we’ve seen that before, too.” 

“I just don’t understand how he can fly. Or at the least, control his flight patterns. You would think he would just float to where the wind pushes him if his molecules somehow made themselves less dense than air.”

“I would assume it’s kinda like swimming. But in air. And not as much resistance,” Mulder smirked, undermining the mystery of the case. 

“Okay, say he was able to do all these things. First of all, the media probably exploded it into some kind of crazy comic book character, as he most likely only demonstrated, or seemed to have demonstrate these traits once and in a fairly minor fashion. Second, how would this even happen? That one guy we investigated was a very intelligent scientist at a quantum physics lab. This is a 14-year-old kid who, when I looked into his profile, was a C-average student. How would he even have access to technology so advanced?”

“Hey, that’s not fair. I was a C-average student in high school and look at me now!” Mulder defended. 

“Um, researching aliens in a dusty basement? That’s not exactly CEO level goals right there,” I teased, keeping a straight face. 

“Well you’re working with him,” Mulder smirked, and I couldn’t help but pull my lips into a slight smile, trying to hide my absolute adoration for him.

“Alright, looks like this kid has been spotted in a town called, ironically, Amity Park,” Mulder announced, reading off the file. 

“Well, book our tickets. I’ll see you tonight.”

...  
“I think that’s it,” Mulder teased, pointing to the eccentric display on top of the house. 

“Well if they can build a giant arrow pointing to their residence, no wonder they were able to turn their son into a superhero,” I returned back at Mulder, and we approached the front doorstep. 

I knocked on the door, and after waiting a brief moment, I heard a friendly female voice announce behind the door “one second!”

When the door swooshed open, a maternal figure stood in the entryway. “Can I help you guys?” the woman inquired sweetly, her hair short and voluminously red.

“Yes ma'am, I am agent Mulder and this is agent Scully. We’re here to investigate a case we believe to be possibly associated with your… uh… research facility,” Mulder said, stepping back to reference the obnoxiously large advertisement on top of the house. 

“Are you with those damn men in white? Tell them they can’t buy out our lab… again!” A male voice boasted from another room of the home.

“We’re FBI, ma’m, but we’re not associated with whoever you are talking about. We’re trying to investigate some witness allegations about… um…” I stuttered, but couldn’t bring myself to say it under the woman’s intimidating watchful eye.

“Unexplainable phenomenon,” Mulder finished for me. 

“Like ghosts? Well you’ve come to the right place!” The booming male voice neared, and a large figure appeared, unaware that his body had shoved away his wife’s. 

“We’re not quite sure yet, Mr…. Fenton?” Mulder clarified.

I began to hear footsteps stomping closer behind us. “Damn. I thought the other guys in white were pretty shitty but I never thought they would replace them,” a female voice muttered, making me turn around.

Two teenage boys and a teenage girl energetically ascended the front steps, carrying their school bags. 

“Don’t worry, we’re much better than the other guys!” Mulder smirked youthfully, playing along like he knew who they were talking about. With his eccentric energy, I could tell he got along pretty well with the younger crowd.

“Yeah, well, we are too. We don’t need help, we have great security here. Even if it’s sometimes... unconventional,” the young, pale, dark-haired boy replied uncomfortably. Something about him made me skeptical. He seemed nervous and possibly dangerously rebellious. Or just a completely awkward adolescent. It was hard to tell.

“We just want to look around a little. Just to stay up to date. We will be out of your hair in no time, I still got a Doomed game to get to,” Mulder smiled as he placed an assuring hand on the pale boy’s shoulder. Despite how adorable Mulder’s nerdy connection to this kid was, I had to remain professional and repress my laughter.

“This guy knows what’s up!” The darker skinned kid grinned, adjusting his glasses.

“I promise we will be quick,” I assured, and the kids politely moved out of our way. 

As we walked through the household, I was thoroughly impressed by the innovative features of their technology, and maybe even more impressed by the family’s humble and casual explanations of them. Maybe this family was a tad crazy but they were crazy smart too.

A young girl filed down the stairs, illustrating a striking similarity to her mother. 

“Whoa! You’re Dana Scully!” She shrieked with excitement. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of my existence made me feel like quite the celebrity.

“Dr. Scully. Why are you here? I mean this is amazing but…” She rattled, but then her excitement quickly faded, “you’re not here for an X-file… are you?” 

“We can’t quite say for sure. I’m sure y'all are aware that there was a homicide a few days ago in south Amity. We’re not quite sure if this is a definite X-file, but the autopsies of the victims were very strange. We just want to investigate all possibilities and make sure the community is safe.”

“Of course!” The young girl replied. 

“And if you see or hear anything strange don’t be afraid to give us a call,” Mulder insisted, handing the girl one of our business cards. 

“Okay!” She followed, taking the card from Mulder and examining it intently.

After a brief interview with the family, we left the household. 

“Let’s check out the rest of the town after lunch,” Mulder suggested as we shuffled down the neighborhood sidewalk.

“Good idea. I’m starving!” I agreed. 

“We can go over notes and plan. One of the kids told me theres a good burger place down the street, I could go for a mean double patty!” 

“I could go for that.”

“Alright, Nasty Burger it is!”


	3. SAM

“What was that all about?” Tucker asked, slamming his locker closed and leaning up against it next to Danny. 

“What was what all about?” Danny asked nervously, quickly glancing at me, hoping I wouldn’t notice. 

“Those FBI agents at your house yesterday,” Tucker insisted, adjusting the books in his arms.

“Oh,” Danny sighed with relief. What did he think Tucker was asking him about?

“That? Nothing. They just asked us some questions and looked around a bit and left. I hate to admit it but they were actually pretty cool for government workers,” Danny chuckled. 

“That’s a relief. Hopefully they won’t be all up your ass like the men in white,” I chimed, watching Danny shut his locker. 

“Or maybe they will…” Tucker added, and we all turned around to find the same FBI couple touring the halls of the school. 

“Fancy seeing you guys here,” the man conversed with a casual smile. 

“Yeah, it’s kind of illegal for us not to be,” I said sarcastically, looking around the halls of the high school. 

The man replied with a “you right” look and continued.

“Have you guys seen anymore suspicious activity? We’re not really supposed to say anything but you guys seem pretty mature. We found another body this morning.” 

My heart dropped at the mention of a corpse, especially one with a personal connection. Whatever was going on in Amity Park, it was getting serious. 

“Some witnesses said they swore they saw a boy with white hair fly into the air only minutes before the crime was estimated to happen at the exact location. Have you kids seen anything like this?” The woman interviewed.

“Were these witnesses on drugs?” Tucker asked with a slight voice crack. I spotted a small drop of sweat emerge from his forehead. 

“No idea, but if so they were all hallucinating the same male human figure,” The man insisted. At that moment the school bell rang, summoning us to class.

“Well if we see anything suspicious, we’ll let you know!” I concluded, grabbing my friends’ arms in each of my hands and dragging them to class.


	4. SCULLY

“Do you smell that?” Mulder asked, sniffing the air as we strolled through the school hallways. 

“Hormones?” I asked, wincing.

“Smells like teen spirit,” Mulder sighed, “reminds me of my high school days.” We turned down a hallway and marched parallel to the run-down lockers. 

“I don’t want to be reminded,” I rolled my eyes.

“Were you chubby with glasses and only wore AC/DC shirts?” Mulder smiled.

“Yeah that about sums it up,” I smiled as I felt my spirits lighten.

We interviewed a few groups of kids and compiled all of our findings at a wooden table in the school courtyard. Hours before the students’ lunches were scheduled, we saw the Fentons’ son run into some bushes.

A bright light cradled the ferns briefly until another male figure flew out of the same hiding place. He had what looked like snow white hair and glowing green eyes. What the Hell just happened?

As he flew away from the school, I noticed Mulder was already yards away, chasing the entity down the street. We reached a dead end, and the figure flew behind a building. Mulder exhaled in frustration, looking for another way to catch up.

We then found two phantoms warp back around, one hauling a human. The white-haired ghost threw ectoplasmic beams at the other dark figure. When one finally hit, he dropped the human, and the white haired boy shot down, barely catching him before he splat on the concrete street. 

The spectral boy released the human, fighting off the other entity in order for him to escape. He pulled out what looked like a thermos and aimed it at the dark spirit, sucking him into a vortex-like black hole. When the coast was clear, the ghost boy ducked behind a wall, the same bright flash echoed through the air, and a human teenager emerged from the dust. He searched his surroundings suspiciously, then began back towards the high school.

“You look like you just saw a ghost!” Mulder noticed.

“Because I think I just did!” I returned, my jaw still dragging the ground, “and I think the Fentons’ son was it!”


	5. SAM

When Tucker and I were finishing up our lunches, we found Danny rushing into the cafeteria. 

“Sorry guys, I had to hunt down some shadow ghost. He was practically kidnapping some dude off the street!” Danny explained, shoving his turkey sandwich down his throat as he tried to catch his breath. The bell screamed in our ears as Danny had barely made it halfway through his sandwich. 

“And you wonder how I’m so skinny,” Danny teased, rolling his eyes with a half-grin as he gathered his practically untouched lunch. 

When the bell rang ending this exhausting school day, I managed to herd Danny and Tucker from the chaotic teenage crowd exiting the school building.

“Did you catch that ghost from second period?” I asked as I grabbed Danny’s arm. 

The touch of his skin both relaxed and provoked me. He gave me this calm serenity, but he also aroused me. And the fact that I could feel his arousal didn’t help either. 

“Yeah, thank God. But this whole, ‘two found dead’ thing is freaking me out a little.” Danny said, and I began to feel his unease. 

“You’re doing the best you can, Danny.” I assured him, though it wasn’t much assurance at all. I understood the seriousness of the whole situation. There was a ghost killing humans in Amity Park, the FBI is investigating, and their only lead is Danny Phantom. 

Not to mention the unsolved mystery that is what Danny and I are. We literally had sex, shared one another, were intimate, and then… nothing. Everything went back to the way it was. I was pretty much friendzoned, and it hurt like Hell, but I just kept reminding myself that we had bigger issues on our hands right now. 

We headed to the Nasty burger to satiate Danny’s growling stomach and refuel before more ghost hunting. When we walked through the doors of the restaurant, we all choked with shock. 

The two FBI agents were sitting at a booth close to the door, and as soon as they saw us, they waved us down. I definitely threw up in my mouth. We approached them hesitantly, not wanting to cause a stir or direct attention to ourselves. 

“Have a seat guys,” the Mulder invited, holding a friendly smile. I was both curious and worried to know what was hiding behind that smile. Wait, what the fuck? I can know!

I dove into the booth next to Mulder, cutting off both Tucker and Danny. I faked a fall, and just as I planned, he grabbed my hands to save me from face planting. The electrical currents in his touch immediately journeyed to my brain, giving me the update on his true emotions. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t skeptical. He wasn’t even eager to bust us. He was genuinely curious, like a friend wanting to help another friend during a difficult time. And though we weren’t even close to being friends with these FBI agents, maybe they were on our side. 

“How was school?” The Mulder asked the table, making easy eye contact with everyone. 

“Just get to the point, we have homework to do,” Tucker hissed, crossing his arms with so much angst. 

“And food to order, I haven’t eaten all day!” Danny whined, and I could see his body shaking a little. 

“How come? Did you not go to lunch?” Scully intercepted. 

“Uh, no I did. I-” Danny stuttered, but somehow I managed to form his words for him.

“We had to finish our project in the library and didn’t have much time to eat.”

“So why aren’t you starving as well?” Scully inquired, leaning in closer from across the table. 

“I, uh… don’t eat much.” I explained. 

“Uh huh, but you like eating caesar salads with no chicken since you’re vegetarian,” Mulder interrogated. 

“Yeah, I ate a little ceasar salad today,” I said softly, almost to a whisper. 

“What was your project over?” Scully interviewed, drilling me with an intimidating gaze. 

“We… uh… it was over…” I hesitated, scanning the room for an idea, “the history of… tofu burgers.” I mentioned weakly. 

“Hmmm, for what class?” Scully asked, refusing to take her eyes off my pale face. 

“Okay this is ridiculous!” Danny intervened, “Tucker and Sam had lunch like normal. There was no project. I had to… uh… take care of things.” 

Danny watched the two agents give him the ‘explain further’ look, and he twitched with fear. 

“We’re not here to freak you guys out or make you nervous,” Mulder insisted. 

“Too late,” Danny whispered to me, his leg shaking anxiously against mine in the booth. 

“We want to find who is murdering all these innocent people here,” Scully explained. 

“Or what,” Mulder added, eyeing each of us to a personal level. 

“What are you talking-” Danny exclaimed, but Mulder cut him off.

“Cut the BS, Danny. We know you possess some kind of supernatural abilities... Ghost powers.”


	6. SCULLY

It was like the friends all had some kind of twin telepathy because they all turned pale and gasped all at the same time. 

“That’s… that’s ridiculous!” Sam mumbled, her hands trembling so furiously it shook the whole table. 

“We know, guys. We’re experts in this kind of stuff. Stop pretending and just explain to us what you are,” I claimed, growing impatient at their adolescent stubbornness. 

“We’ve seen and experienced so much working on the X-files over the years. Nothing you say will surprise us. We just want to know what fucked up stuff is going on in this town and how to stop it,” Mulder assured calmly. How was he so patient? 

The kids dropped their heads and stared at their toes in disbelief. After a few moments of awkward silence, the superhuman child spoke. 

“I got my abilities from an accident that occurred a few years ago in my parents’ lab,” Danny explained, finally making eye contact with my partner and I. The two friends stared at him in disbelief, unwilling to accept defeat. 

“It had to do with something about the rearrangement of quantum particles and the effect it had on my DNA. It gave me the ability to fly, turn invisible and phase through objects.”

“Like Ghost on Ant-man and Wasp!” Mulder included enthusiastically. 

“Exactly!” Danny smiled, his body easing up a bit as a result of his and Mulder’s weird yet somewhat charming nerd connection, “how did you find out I had powers, anyway?”

“I’m a psychic,” Mulder insisted with a believable poker face that even got me a little. After a moment of silence, he added a short “kidding!”

“Anyway, over time I started to develop more and more powers. I can shoot energy rays, draw a forcefield, and even throw people off their feet with super strong sound waves, which I call my ghostly wail. Not to mention the ability to manipulate ice.” The kid’s tone shifted from scared to confident, to almost cocky. 

“I’m not murdering anyone though, I swear!” Danny insisted. 

“We know. You’re trying to stop the thing that is,” Mulder extrapolated, placing a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder. Danny managed a smile, expressing his trust towards Mulder. 

I knew it wasn’t the time or place to fantasize, but I couldn’t help but imagine Mulder as a paternal figure. As evidenced by the way he interacted with these kids with such ease and compassion, he would do the same with a child of his own. Maybe a child of our own? Who am I kidding, our lives are way too complicated for a relationship... nevertheless a family!

“So, now we need to make a plan to catch this criminal, whatever he or she may be,” Mulder suggested, his tone more serious, “has this ever happened before that you know of?”

“No. Never. Ghosts- uh… unidentified entities…” Danny began, and Mulder added “you can say ghosts. No need to be politically correct here.” 

“Um, ghosts… tend to escape their world into ours every so often, but they never commit crimes beyond robbery or terrorizing humans for their own entertainment.” The boy continued, “None have ever killed a human. Whoever this ghost is, I’ve never come across it before.” 

“You said something about escaping their world into ours? How do they do that?” I asked, not believing the words coming out of my mouth. 

“Yeah, we call it the Ghost Zone. It’s accessible through a portal, kind of like the portal to the Quantum Realm in Ant Man. Anyway, this is where most ghosts reside. It’s basically the flip side of our world, a universe of the unliving.” 

One of the first things that came to my mind as he spoke was the fact that these kids have seen just as much or even more crazy shit as I have, and they’ve barely hit puberty!

“So this creature, it’s in the Ghost Zone?” Mulder inquired. 

“Most likely,” Danny answered, leaning back in his seat as he crossed his arms. 

“So let’s do some research, find a way to destroy him, then locate him in this Ghost Zone,” I suggested, searching the table for confirmation. 

“It’s not really that easy…” Danny countered. 

“Why not?” The petite girl next to him asked, sending confusion into his eyes. 

Mulder and I exchanged a confident smile, already telepathically planning our execution. 

“Well that’s settled. Tomorrow we’ll visit this murderer and put him in his place,” Mulder concluded, standing up out of his seat. As he initiated his exit, the kids filed out of the booth and my partner and I headed to our motel. 

...

Mulder and I sat across from each other at the small wooden table in the motel room, our laptops reflecting violent light into our faces. We sat silently, Googling with the hopes of discovering something about our killer. As I peeked up from behind my computer, I watched Mulder’s “focused face”, and it put a huge smile across my lips. He was an attractive guy, no matter how crazy and conspiratorial he was. He was a good man, always so optimistic and passionate. 

And above all, he was intelligent. He challenged me. He was so open-minded, curious, and abstract. I wasn’t used to his chaotic logic, but when it really boiled down to it, it somehow always leads to successful cases. 

“What?” He wondered, sending me a confused expression when I had accidentally stared at him for too long. 

“Nothing,” I said, trying to wipe away my smile and return to serious Scully. He made a half-grin and returned to his research. 

“I think I might have found something,” Mulder announced, turning his laptop screen towards me. The page showed a photo of a creepy woman, so thin she looked like a human skeleton with hair and clothes. She wore a bright, colorful dress, hinting at a Latin or meso-american style. 

“A Tzitzimime?” I asked, probably botching the word altogether. 

“Yep. This woman apparently feeds on humans during times of chaos or as an apocalyptic omen. It says in many legends she prefers children, which makes sense because all the murders were minors.” 

“Mulder. This isn’t a woman. It’s a monster.” 

“Exactly.”

“You can’t possibly think this thing ate those kids? It’s a legend, from a totally different country!” 

“Scully, you saw with your own eyes the weird shit that goes on in this town. I mean that kid we talked to had fucking ghost powers for crying out loud! We’ve seen supernatural things before, how is this any different?” Mulder debated, “plus, even if it’s not the actual legend itself, maybe it’s like a cult that practices human sacrifice in the Tzitzimime name or something. We’ve seen that before, too. So we need to keep our minds open and gather all the information we can.”

“You’re right, Mulder. What else can you tell me about this… Tzitzimime?”

“Well, it looks like she’s not totally evil. It says that she promoted feminine power and fertility,” Mulder suggested. 

“Guess she clears her conscience of taking life by helping bring life into the world,” I insisted sarcastically. As I read about this creature, I became a little curious. I thought back to when the doctors told me I was physically unable to have kids, not that I wanted them now, but it was hard for me to think about a future where I couldn’t have the option. I know it’s a little ridiculous, but maybe I could get something personal out of this case. In the back of my skeptical mind, I knew it wasn’t possible and if this creature was real, why would she help me? But the hope still lingered in the back of my mind.


	7. SAM

“Don’t be nervous, Danny. Unlike everyone in this town who’s out to get Danny Phantom, I honestly feel like these FBI guys don’t give a shit about that. They know you’re not evil, and I think they just want to catch this ghost and move on,” I explained, taking Danny’s hand as we waited in his room for the agents to show up. I felt his mood lighten a bit and he smiled softly, looking into my eyes. 

I then felt an intense sensation, one of love. I sensed a reflective love sifting through Danny’s hand and into mine, reaching the very bottom of my heart. Why were we both pretending to not have feelings for one another when we clearly do? Why are we unnecessarily friendzoning one another? 

Why couldn’t he just say it? “I love you.” It’s not that hard. I said it to him...kinda. I mean he didn’t remember since it was in the Nocturn dream he had forgotten, but still. We heard the doorbell ring. Thankfully, his parents weren’t home, so I ran upstairs to answer it. 

“Good morning, we brought what we thought was necessary for this. You guys will be safe, I promise,” Mulder assured me, and I replied with a smirk, “It’s not us I’m worried about.”   
I know we are only kids, but we’ve been up against more ghosts than school exams, so it sort of came natural to us. 

I let them in and escorted them to the lab downstairs. As we descended the stairs, I turned around and found their gawking faces. 

“Did you guys not see this the first time you came here?” I wondered. It was the best part of the Fenton house… besides Danny’s room of course. 

They just shook their heads, neglecting any immediate knowledge of English. Danny noticed their amazed expressions and blushed. Though it wasn’t a product of his own making, he knew the ins and outs of it, and he was surely proud of that. 

“We can take the-” Tucker started, but was interrupted by Mulder, “Fenton Mobile?” 

“Yeah, the Fenton Mobile!” Tucker exclaimed with excitement. That sounded a lot cooler than the original name. 

We all gathered in besides Danny, who stood outside the machine and shifted into his ghostly self. The lights flashed and both agents beside me watched with disbelief. 

Danny quickly hopped into the driver’s seat and tapped a couple of buttons until the engine revved. The gates to the ghost portal whirred as they opened and we zoomed in, almost at light speed. 

I looked behind me and found Mulder holding Scully’s hand, a reminder that she was safe with him. Though I had a feeling she saved his ass more than he’s saved hers, the sentiment was still there, and that seemed to keep their trust for one another. 

I turned towards Danny and noticed his intense concentration at the task in front of him. He was fairly similar to Mulder. He felt an obligation to keep everyone safe, even if that meant sacrificing himself. I wouldn’t quite compare his intelligence to Mulder’s, because he was an FBI agent with a solid success record, but that’s what I was for. Just like Mulder couldn’t do what he does without Scully, Danny wouldn’t be able to do what he does without Tucker and I. As selfish as it sounds for me to say this, that comforts me. It means he will always need us, just like we will always need him. 

“So do you know where we’re going?” Scully asked. 

“Nope,” Danny answered with a smile, “but I know a guy who does.” 

...

We touched down at a frozen wasteland. THE frozen wasteland, where everyone worshipped Danny Phantom. This oughta give him some good street cred with the two agents. We all filed out the vehicle, sloshing onto the snow below us, and in Tucker’s case, face planted into the snow below us.

“We won’t get any kind of radiation poisoning or anything, will we?” Mulder asked, analyzing the authenticity of the ‘ghost snow’.

“What’s that?” Danny asked, putting the vehicle in park. Mulder and Scully glanced at one another nervously, probably thinking they were fucked. I could have assured them that was safe, but I would ruin the danger and excitement. So I just stayed quiet and followed Danny to Frostbite’s lair.


	8. SCULLY

None of this made sense. The fact that we crossed dimensions without our very molecules scattering from our bodies. Or the fact that everything in this alternate dimension floated like it does in space but we were easily walking through this snow. It was like this world had completely different laws of physics… or absolutely no laws at all. 

We came to a large cave, also coated in snow. The ground below us rumbled, and I stepped back in fear. I felt Mulder rub my back, making me exhale and calm down a bit. 

“Oh great one!” A booming voice boasted from inside the cave. It walked out into the sunlight, taking my breath away once again. 

“Told you Sasquatch was real,” Mulder whispered to me while I couldn’t form words. 

“It’s been too long! We needed your help,” Danny answered as the creature bent down to his level. This had to be the weirdest fucking friendship I’d ever seen. 

“Of course! Anything for our savior!” The creature returned. 

“Oh yeah guys, this is Frostbite. Frostbite, these are some guys who want to help us with a bit of a ghost problem in Amity park,” Danny introduced. 

“Nice to meet you all!” He insisted, his voice so low I could feel the vibrations through the snow. 

“We need to know where this thing is,” I included, holding up a photo from our research. Frostbite took it with his enormous claws and analyzed it. 

“Oh yes, the Tzitzimime. It hasn’t been active in centuries. It only makes an appearance when there is serious danger to be faced.” 

“So you’re saying its presence is possibly an apocalyptic omen?” I inquired, staring up at the friendly beast. 

“Not ‘possibly’ apocalyptic. It is apocalyptic. I’m glad you came to me. This is serious.”

“Great, then let’s find this fucker,” Danny insisted, and Frostbite invited us into his cave. 

As we toured the cave, I realized that these creatures were not primordial in any nature. They were actually quite advanced, and their technology exceeded that of our world. But of course when the laws of physics change, I’m sure technology changes with it. 

Frostbite grabbed a map that was the centerpiece of a securely guarded room. “You’ve used this before, Danny. I and my squad can go with you and help you fight this thing. We’re under your orders.” 

“Thanks Frostbite, but I think it would be more strategic for us to go alone.” Danny assured, taking the map from Frostbite’s large… paws?

“Okay, but if you need anything at all, we are always here for you.” He bent down once again and nudged Danny against his furry body in a friendly embrace. It was sweet, but still weird as fuck. We returned to the vehicle and collaborated on our plan. 

“Great! Let’s get at ‘em then!” Danny included, starting up the vehicle. We shot off into the odd realm of anti-physics, racing towards a folklorish creature once again.


	9. SAM

We landed on a dismal island, floating elegantly within the Ghost Zone. I watched as Danny fidgeted with all the machine’s buttons. His fingers gently pushed on each one as they lit up, pressing them in a routine fashion. As I stared at his dancing fingers, I imagined them gracing my body, rubbing my skin sensually. My mind travelled back in time, back to the moment he really touched me and gave me sensations I had never felt before. 

“Do you still have the map, Sam?” Danny asked, standing outside the craft. 

“What? Yeah. Oh yeah, the map. I have it,” I clamored, climbing out of my fantasies. This was the absolute worst time to be turned on. 

I took the map out of the door pocket and handed it to Danny. We managed to find the island, now we had to find this creature’s location. I unfolded the magic map and analyzed it. 

“Looks like it resides in there,” I mentioned, looking up to point towards a large ruin in front of us. When I raised my head, I realized nobody was around except Scully, who was investigating the map right behind me. 

“I’m getting from this that he’s in there,” Scully said softly, pointing to the pyramid-looking structure in front of us. The others had gone the opposite direction, following some kind of instinct they thought ‘felt right’ in the moment. 

“Hey!” Scully shouted obnoxiously but efficiently. They all turned around and followed her directions to follow us towards the ominous structure. It looked like we were heading into an ancient ruin, one used by primal cultures to carry out human sacrifices by the thousands. 

We climbed the steps of this intimidating structure and as I looked down, I noticed a reddish-brown splat striking the stairs right down the middle. It looked like dried blood, and as I began to feel nauseous, I looked up, focusing on the flight ahead. 

When we reached the top, we stumbled into a dark room. We tripped over some of the rubble, causing a tremendous echo. I watched as Danny’s ghost rays illuminated the ruins, revealing the piles of human remains lining the walls. I gasped in terror, though what did I expect besides haunting foreshadowing in this malicious-looking death trap?

I felt a hand grab mine to pull me up. I found Danny, his face glowing beautifully in the light rays he literally single-handedly emitted, and I sighed with relief. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his goofy smirk even amongst the panic-inducing stimuli around me. 

Our ditzy smiles quickly turned to terror when an arrow shot past us, nailing Scully right in the stomach. Danny quickly fumed defensively, his ghost rays exploding from his hands. Mulder whipped out one of the ghost guns we recommend he borrow from the lab. He was reluctant to use anything but his own, but a regular gun wouldn’t have done him much good in this world. 

When Scully fell to the floor, we all rushed over to check on her. She gasped with horror at the arrow lodged in her lower abdomen, sparking Mulder and Danny to move forward in attack mode. 

“Scully!” I shouted, lifting up her shirt and feeling the pale skin underneath her, checking for blood loss. But oddly, there was not a drop of blood on her. I continued scanning her skin with my fingers and I felt no pain in her body whatsoever. If anything, I felt bubbling optimism.

“The arrow, it’s gone?” Scully muttered, peeling herself off the floor. Tucker and I offered to help her up but she declined as she was fully capable. She shook a bit from the adrenaline but she was ultimately unharmed. “I don’t think she’s trying to hurt us,” she suggested. 

“I don’t either,” I replied, looking up to see Danny and Mulder face off against an army of terrifying creatures.


	10. SCULLY

I was so confused. I had been shot by an arrow, though I had not felt a lick of pain. Of course my body reacted physically, as the fight or flight response kicked in, but after the initial rush, I felt a sense of… serenity. 

“Mulder!” I shouted, dusting myself off, “wait!”

Mulder turned around briefly to make sure I was okay and froze with surprise. I saw the confusion in his eyes, the bewilderment in his posture. Danny mirrored the same response, lowering his ghostly rays. 

“I don’t think they mean harm.” I announced. 

“What do you mean? They just shot you!” Mulder argued, coming closer to me. 

“Do I look like I’m injured?” I replied, trying to placate his masculine urge to kill.   
He was stuck. There was an internal battle within him pulling him to protect me but at the same time he wanted to maintain his respect for the unknown and refrain from violently pursuing something that wanted no trouble. 

“Maybe we can just… talk to them?” Samantha added, finding her way towards Mulder and I. 

“You really think they want to just talk?” Tucker commented, following Sam towards us. 

“Maybe we just need to figure out what’s going on here. You know, ask questions first, shoot later.” Samantha argued as she crossed her skinny arms. I was done arguing about this. I continued forward, surprisingly unafraid despite the fact that I’d just been attacked by God knows what. 

“Who are you and what do you want?” I shouted into the dark cave. My voice echoed, suggesting the interior was much larger than how it appeared. 

There was a moment of agonizing silence until the voice of an old woman croaked,   
“we want to protect our world.” 

“By feeding on innocent humans?” Samantha shouted, now right next to me.

“By lessening the threat to Earth. You humans know exactly how to destroy the very things you depend on for survival.” 

“But why now?” I asked, feeling my knees shake at the eerie conversation. 

“We sense doom in the near future. For our world... and yours.” 

Danny, Tucker and Mulder made their way towards us, staring at the deep nothingness into which we spoke. 

“You…” The voice exclaimed with shock. A woman came into the light. But she was not necessarily a woman. She was a human figure, made solely of bones, dressed in ancient female clothing. She wore a dress with a beautiful Latin-style pattern and colorful jewelry up and down her boney arms. 

She touched Danny and I tensed with anticipation. I was afraid of their proximity, that she could kill him at any moment, but she remained still, her empty eye sockets focused on Danny’s face. She ran her skeletal fingers through his hair and down his face, skimming his body until she reached his chest. She could have stabbed him with those knife-like digits at any moment, yet she touched him so gently, almost with a maternal grace. 

“You. You’re the phantom child,” She spoke, her voice raspy and weak. 

“Yea- yes,” Danny stuttered, wincing with unease. He squinted nervously but I could tell he was making an effort to stay as calm and collected as possible. I was aware that he had fought ghosts before but this was just plain disturbing... and I work on the fucking X-files. 

“You have powerful energy. Life-saving energy,” The woman said, “you must save everyone.”

“That’s what I do. Including those you’ve been terrorizing in my town,” Danny mentioned, his voice now a little more authoritative.

“We had no choice. But now we do. If you promise to step up when the time comes, we will promise to stop entering your world. If we sense you have a change of heart, we will return, and we will take things into our own hands,” she said menacingly. I’m assuming that was a straight up threat. 

“I promise,” Danny answered without hesitation. The womanly figure took a step back and paused then reached out with one sharp finger and sliced his wrist. I gasped and found Samantha lunge forward, but I quickly held her back. We watched as the woman cupped her boney hands underneath Danny’s slit wrist, collecting his blood in her palms. She brought them to her face and gulped down the fluid. I winced with discomfort as I watched the cultish practice. When she was done, she slowly took Danny’s wrist and held it. When she released him, his scar had healed and the blood disappeared. 

“I hope we won’t see you soon,” she hissed, and the spirit faded away back into the darkness of the cave. We remained silent, on our toes for any other threats to come. But all was over. 

“Can we go home? I need to change my pants,” Tucker announced shamefully, and we all left, no questions asked. 

…

“How will we know the threat is gone for good?” I asked Mulder, who was currently zipping up his suitcase. 

“I guess we won’t. Things have seemed to die down though, and we haven’t seen anything in the last three days since we visited our friend, the Tzitzimime,” he replied, taking a deep breath and pausing to look at me for my opinion. 

“What do you think she meant by humans destroying the world? And that little boy being some kind of savior, like the end is near?” I asked, still not satisfied with the case. 

“I have no clue, It’s probably smoking man,” Mulder teased, flashing his adorable smile, “but the town seems safe now and the current problem seems to be solved, so let’s just take it one step at a time.” 

He approached me and sat on the bed, our sides nuzzled against one another. It gave me tingles, and I couldn’t help but appreciate Mulder’s reassurance... And proximity. 

“You’re right. I just feel like it’s the calm before the storm,” I stated, looking him in the eyes. 

As much as I worried, I couldn’t help but focus on this man’s gaze. I naturally associated his presence with comfort and peace, despite all the crazy shit we were constantly getting ourselves into. I’ve always been a type A person, stressing at even the mention of failure, and that hasn’t changed. However, every time I look at Mulder, I feel this instant spike of dopamine bless my body, and I just fall into a kind of serenity. He sucks me into his peaceful optimism he carries with him daily, despite the challenges and defeats he faces. After becoming his partner and working with him on the X-files, I developed an envy for his open-mindedness and hope. But now, after getting to know him more deeply, I realized I shouldn’t be jealous. I should be happy that he has enough of this hope and optimism to share with me. 

Needless to say, I can’t explain how I fell in love with him. But now I most definitely understand why.


	11. SAM

“I’ll see y'all on the flip side!” Tucker exclaimed, bailing on our pre-planned movie night. 

“Where are you going?” Danny asked, comfortably leaned back in the retractable chair next to mine. 

“I, uh… got a date,” Tucker chuckled nervously, fidgeting with his hat.

“Have fun. Don’t do anything I’d kick your ass for,” he insisted, sending Tucker a reassuring smile. 

“You got it, dude!” Tucker smiled back, ascending the stairs out of my movie room. 

“I’m surprised he still gets nervous when he talks about his dates with Jazz,” I said, staring at the stairs. 

“Yeah, I think he’s just still worried I don’t approve. But why wouldn’t I? I know Tucker is a good guy and I care about my sister. I honestly knew it was bound to happen ever since he finished puberty.” Danny chuckled. 

“I wouldn’t worry about Tucker. Jazz definitely runs the show in that relationship,” I laughed, picturing the couple’s dynamic. There was a moment of awkward silence before Danny spoke. 

“Who runs the show in ours?” Danny asked, sitting up from his comfortable horizontal position. 

“What relationship?” I scoffed, refusing to meet his gaze. 

“Sam,” he sighed, “I’m sorry.” 

Oh God, what was he sorry for? Is he finally laying out the fact that he just wants to be friends and what happened the other day was a mistake? I couldn’t hear it. Even though I suspected it, I couldn’t hear him say it. My heart dropped and I could already feel tears develop in the back of my burning eye sockets. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t just… talk. Tell you how I felt. It seems like communication works for a lot of things, even stopping creepy skeletal ghosts from killing the kids of Amity,” he explained, getting out of the chair and approaching mine. I knew he was trying to lighten up the tension with some joking, but I just wasn’t in the mood. 

“Danny, if you want to tell me you don’t-” I began angrily, but he cut me off. 

“Sam, I love you.” 

I paused, shocked at his words. The most beautiful words I think I had ever heard. I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I didn’t even think this was real life at that moment. 

He climbed onto my chair, nudging himself into the small spot between me and the armchair. He looked at me, and as his elbow grazed mine, I felt his disappointment at my silence. A smile emerged on my face, and I laughed with delight. 

“Holy shit. About time!” I laughed, my grin so large it hurt my face. I grabbed him and shoved my lips against his, feeling his nervous confusion. 

“I love you too, Danny.” I whispered, staring at his beautiful blue eyes. I returned my lips back to his, and felt his confusion and anxiety shift to elatedness. 

“Want to take this to my room, ghost boy?” I inquired seductively as I watched his eyes enlarge with excitement. 

“Of course. I got to keep my girlfriend happy,” he giggled as he helped me out of the chair. He showed that huge, dorky smile that I’ve always adored and followed me to my bedroom.


End file.
